Language Barrier Between Nurses and Patients

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the article "When Language Intervenes" by Nancy L. Oliva as a short yet compelling article, where Oliva provides an eye-opening scenario related to the existing language barrier between nurses and their foreign-born patients. The paper then relates Oliva's logical steps and processes that health care providers like nurses and medical facilities can follow in order to help alleviate this language barrier.

From the Paper:

"In today's United States, there is an ever-growing problem in the field of professional nursing related to the language barrier between nurses, physicians, medical technologists and their patients, most of whom, depending on where one might be practicing, are Hispanics and Asians with limited efficiency in the English language. Under normal conditions, such as when an Hispanic or Asian patient is experiencing a minor medical problem, this language barrier may not be cause for much alarm, but when such patients are experiencing major medical problems and/or conditions, this language barrier can lead to unexpected and often tragic results. Exactly how to solve this language barrier is the focus of the article "When Language Intervenes" by Nancy L. Oliva, a doctorate candidate in the School of Nursing at the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing, located at the University of California, San Francisco."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Oliva, Nancy L. (March 2008). "When Language Intervenes: Improving Care for Patients with Limited English Proficiency." American Journal of Nursing. Vol. 108, No. 3. pgs. 73-75.

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